Mejlis: Fire in courtyard of Crimean Tatar caused by arson

Rustem Mennanov, member of the regional Mejlis in Sovetsky District, “There's an obvious arson, because the car was without any battery or wiring. There was no ignition source but it was completely burned out.”

SOVETSKY DISTRICT / ICHKI (QHA) -

Enver Veisov, Head of the local Mejlis in the village of Dmitrovka in Sovetsky District, is now in hospital with burns on his hands and face after a fire that occurred in the yard of his house on the night of Sunday, January 17.

Just a reminder: Enver Veisov got the burns when trying to save his property after a haystack in his yard caught fire at 3 am, and his car standing nearby was completely burned down.

According to Rustem Mennanov, member of the Mejlis of Sovetsky district, it was arson.

“There's an obvious arson, because the car was without any battery or wiring. There was no ignition source but the car was completely burned out,” he said.

He suspects Enver Veisov’s neighbor, who had previously threatened him with a Molotov cocktails.

“Police knows the neighbor as an emotionally unstable person, who abuses drugs and alcohol. He even stabbed a man, who is now in hospital. Unfortunately, the stabbed man hasn’t reported him to the police. So, the situation in the village became very tense after the man moved to the village,” said Rustem Mennanov.

Yesterday, police arrived to Enver Veisov. They interviewed his wife, draw up a report on an accident and determined damages.

Today, a forensic specialist is to arrive on the scene and take samples for examination: whether it was arson or spontaneous combustion.

Enver Veisov is currently waiting for a lawyer to draw up a statement about the incident for the police.

Regional Mejlis fear that law enforcement officers can ‘soft pedal’ the incident presenting it as a spontaneous combustion fire.

“The situation is that no one wants to enter the case, presenting it as a domestic crime or something like that,” says Rustem Mennanov.

It was reported earlier that Nariman Jelal, First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars, wrote on his social network page that it was not the first conflict on inter-ethnic grounds, but law enforcement officers often prefer not to publicize what is happening.